Advisor(s)

Mr Allan Goh

Subjects

Environment

Abstract

This project is targeted at bettering the quality of life of people in the rural areas who do not have easy access to electricity by creating a sustainable Plant Microbial Fuel Cell (PMFC). The concept of a PMFC is fairy new and holds a lot of potential to be explored. By referencing previous research papers, optimum operating conditions were selected, including the concentration of chemicals used and the temperature the setup was placed such that all elements of a MFC were present, with room for a plant. In order to produce a self-sustainable PMFC, the plant had to be able to generate a sustainable electrical voltage. After optimizing the physical setup and operating conditions, a peak voltage of approximately 0.4V was successfully generated. We then sought to replace the chemicals with commonly found oxidising and reducing agents that are environmentally friendly and easy to obtain. Through a serendipitous discovery, we managed to achieve a peak voltage of approximately 0.4V that is sustained over a period of 70 hours by using a combination of tap water and salt water to replace the chemicals.

Keywords-plant; microbial fuel cell; sustainable

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Optimising a Plant (Red Flame Ivy) Microbial Fuel Cell as a Sustainable Electricity Source

This project is targeted at bettering the quality of life of people in the rural areas who do not have easy access to electricity by creating a sustainable Plant Microbial Fuel Cell (PMFC). The concept of a PMFC is fairy new and holds a lot of potential to be explored. By referencing previous research papers, optimum operating conditions were selected, including the concentration of chemicals used and the temperature the setup was placed such that all elements of a MFC were present, with room for a plant. In order to produce a self-sustainable PMFC, the plant had to be able to generate a sustainable electrical voltage. After optimizing the physical setup and operating conditions, a peak voltage of approximately 0.4V was successfully generated. We then sought to replace the chemicals with commonly found oxidising and reducing agents that are environmentally friendly and easy to obtain. Through a serendipitous discovery, we managed to achieve a peak voltage of approximately 0.4V that is sustained over a period of 70 hours by using a combination of tap water and salt water to replace the chemicals.

Keywords-plant; microbial fuel cell; sustainable

 

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